The Secrets of Konoha
by The King and his Horse
Summary: The fateful night the Kyubi no Yoko attacked... There had to be a reason, right? Mild AU, OCxSakura. An edited version of my first attempt.
1. Prologue: The Secrets of Konoha

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: Well, I had this story posted previously, but my writing skills back then weren't exactly up to par, so I decided to rewrite it. It will make things oh-so-much easier to understand and more enjoyable. Note: It is mild-AU. Also, don't worry. The dojinshi is coming along rather okay-ish.**

**-Prologue: The Secrets of Konoha-**

**A pair of eyes glowed in the darkness, the slit snake-like pupils darkly contrasting against the seemingly glowing yellow of the rest of the eyes.**

"**This baby… We're sure that this will be successful this time, yes?" the voice hissed, only seeming to add to the snake-like appearance of the character. The figure parted its lips ever so slightly, its long, snake-like tongue sliding out, delicately licking at the baby that was in a crib, surrounded by strange runes and symbols. The black hair flowing out from under the conical straw hat only added to the illusion of the person being a snake.**

"**Of course," replied another figure, this figure's eyes seemingly glowing red. The long raven-black hair flowing gave the figure an unnatural feminine look, the narrow eyes and emotionless face doing no good in distinguishing this person's features.**

**The glowing red eyes slowly traveled from the silent infant sleeping peacefully in the crib, to a rather large cage upon which the crib was laying.**

**From the cage, a small, fox-like cry could be heard emanating, filling the air with a strange, unearthly beauty and fear. A small, bushy, tentacle-like appendage could be seen lashing out against the cage bar. Upon coming into contact with the bar, the bar immediately glowed a faint blue color, which traveled down the appendage into the body of he creature, revealing the small fox within the cage. The fox gave out a yelp, before slumping down to the floor of the cage.**

"**And you are positive?" the first figure asked. "Do remember that we had killed almost twenty infants now, each dieing more horribly than the last. The first only died peacefully, while the second bled a little. The last one was literally an explosion, guts and appendages flying everywhere.**

"**Is this… sympathy I hear? Since when did _you_ begin to care for the well-being of other creatures?" inquired the second.**

"**Do not mock me," the first said in an unnaturally calm tone. "I am not being sympathetic. I am merely expressing my distress over perfectly fine specimens being wasted for such… fruitless… experimentation, when I have over a thousand that I would like to perform. After all, infants _are_ rather hard to come by, no?"**

"**Regardless, I am sure this one will succeed," the figure with red eyes stated. When the snake-like man didn't argue back, the red-eyed figure merely began to perform the necessary hand seals for the sealing…**

……………

**A/N: Well, this is no big surprise, eh? Just so you know, the story will be based on an original character; so unless you enjoy reading one of the characters from Naruto being paired up with an OC, please do not continue reading. I can't stand flamers. They're usually unintelligible and pointless. However, do not mistake flames for constructive criticism. Anyways, all forms of reviews, as long as it isn't flaming, is accepted. Thanks!**


	2. Ah! Is He?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**  
A/N: So, for those of you who have had the misfortune of reading the old version of this story, I'm sorry. If your eyes bled because you read that… That's no surprise. Anyways, on to the actual first chapter of the story. Enjoy!**

**-Ah! Is he?…-**

**On the dirt path leading to Konohagakure no Sato, a figure could be seen treading the worn dirt path. The figure's black sandals plodded against the dirt path, the kunai holster upon the right thigh producing a dull 'clunk' with every step the right foot took.**

**The figure let out a contented sigh, the gates of Konoha coming into view. The figure ran a hand through his hair, the short, black hair being pushed down before standing again.**

"**Ah… Home sweet home…"**

…

**A certain blonde shinobi named Uzumaki Naruto could be seen outside Konoha's gates, meditating. He had gotten into the habit of doing this ever since he had returned from his two-year training trip with Jiraiya. As he continued to meditate upon the chakra signatures around him, he sensed a strange chakra signature come in to range… One that he hadn't felt in a long, long, time…**

"**Ah! Is this… Could it be?…"**

…

**As the previously mentioned figure continued to make his way to the gates, he was surprised to see a face he hadn't seen in a long, long time…**

…

"**That's… It is! Yo! KAIJIN!" Naruto yelled, running at the figure identified to be Kaijin.**

"**Yo."**

…

"**KAIJIN!" Kaijin heard. He looked at the figure, studying it more carefully. The blonde spiked hair, the three whisker-marks… Yep.**

"**Yo. Naruto. How long has it been?"**

"**Haha! Hey! Too long, I say. How were ya? Three other passed through about two days ago. Were you with them? Huh? Where did you guys go? What was it like?"**

"**Whoa, whoa, calm down, Naruto. Why don't I tell you over a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku? My treat."**

"**Really? Sweet! Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" And with that, the two boys were off, dashing the rest of the way to the mentioned ramen stand.**

…

"**Dammit, Naruto," growled a pink haired girl, sitting cross-legged on a field of grass. She slowly opened and closed her fists, her arms slowly flexing and relaxing. "I finally find the time to spar with you, and you just blow me off, just like that? Baka… Just wait till I find you…"**

…

"**So, where did you go?" Naruto asked, much calmer now that ramen was in his systems. Kaijin merely looked at the stack of ramen bowls that were on the table on Naruto's side, then sadly looked down at the pockets of his black, shin-length shorts, where his wallet was resting.**

"**Naruto," Kaijin said, a subtle mixture of rage and sorrow in his voice.**

"**Yeah?"**

"**I… will… never… ever… _ever_… treat you to ramen… EVER."**

"**Ehehehe… Sorry. Anyways, where did you go?"**

"**Well, about that… You see, I crossed the Western Sea, having passed through Kaze no Kuni."**

"**So you really went West, huh?" Naruto asked, looking down longingly at his ramen. The glint in his eyes said it all. He was jealous.**

"**Yeah… I stayed mostly in Hagane no Kuni."**

"**Land of Steel, huh? So, did you learn loads of foreign jutsu?"**

"**Yeah… Although, they mostly excelled in Taijutsu…"**

"**Oh…" Naruto said, looking down sadly at his ramen, once again.**

"**But don't worry," Kaijin said, slowly leaning back in his chair. "I still learned several cool new jutsu. In fact, I'll tell you as soon as we finish."**

"**For real? YES? I'd better hurry and-"**

"**NARUTO!" came a loud howl from a certain vengeful pink haired medic-nin. Completely caught off guard, Kaijin leaned back too far and fell backwards on his chair, hitting this ground with a loud crash.**

"**S-Sakura-chan? Crap! The spar session! Oh! I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! Really! Completely slipped my mind! Honest!"**

"**I knew I'd find you here, you no good-" However, Sakura stopped in the middle of her dangerous approach towards Naruto, having stomped on something that was noticeably softer and squishier than the floor of Ichiraku Ramen Bar. She looked down, and was distressed when she discovered she had just stomped on a poor shinobi's stomach. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were there, and what with Naruto and-"**

"**Hey, Sakura-chan! Guess who that is?"**

"**Eh? Who, him?"**

"**Yeah!"**

"**Umm…"**

"**It's Kaijin!"**

"**Kai… jin…?"**

……………

**A/N: Well, not a bad way to start off a rewritten story, I suppose. Anyways, any forms of reviews as long as it's not flames are accepted. Thanks!**


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